CONICET | Buscador de Institutos y Recursos Humanos

Hepatitis A viruses (HAV), Hepatovirus genus within Picornaviridae family, possess an RNA genome of approximately 7500 nucleotides, which is translated into a polyprotein of 2227 amino acids, rendering mature proteins by post-translational cleavage. As other RNA viruses, HAV exists in vivo as a quasispecies, which dynamics is characterized by continuous generation of variants, competition among them, and selection of the fittest mutants. Six different genotypes are described for HAV. Genotype I is the most prevalent worldwide, and sub-genotype IA is the major HAV population in South America. In this work, we report the complete HAV genomic sequence and the recombination analysis carried out on a stool sample (HAV-Arg/06) obtained in Santa Fé, in 2006, from a sick child. Phylogenetic analysis (performed on the VP1-2A junction fragment or the complete genome) placed the isolate within sub-genotype IA. A recombination event with sub-genotype IB was identified, involving a portion of the 2C-3A coding region. This study constitutes the first report of a full-length HAV sequence in Argentina and the third in South America. Identification of recombination between sub-genotypes IA and IB in an Argentinean isolate is of great relevance as there are no reports of sub-genotype IB strains circulating in Argentina. IA/IB recombination events detected in Argentina and in Uruguay, and the identification of both sub-genotypes in Brazil, are suggestive of increased co-circulation or introduction of recombinant strains. New HAV complete sequence data are required to establish a more consistent genetic relatedness among isolates and the role of recombination in its evolution.

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